Superposed conveyors with rack and pinion driven reciprocating cutter



Feb. 22, 1966 D. HOLDEN SUPERPOSED CON VEYORS WITH RACK AND PINION DRIVEN RECIPROCATING CUTTER Flled Aprll 15 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet l FIG.

DERMOT HOLDEN ATTORNEY.

/(TTORNEY.

D. HOLDEN 2 D N A K M R H T T. W S R 0 Y E v N O C Feb. 22, 1966 SUPERPOSED PINION DRIVEN RECIPROCATING CUTTER Flled Aprll 15, 1965 United States Patent SUPERPOSED CQNVEYORS WITH RACK AND PINION DRIVEN RECIPROCATING CUTTER Dermot Holden, Westport, Conn., assignor to American Machine & Foundry Company, a corporation of New Jersey Filed Apr. 15, 1963, Ser. No. 273,065 4 Claims. (Cl. 83-4) This invention relates to a cutting apparatus. More particularly, the invention relates to a mechanized cutting machine for slicing edible products such as buns, rolls and the like, as well as non-edible articles such as wood, plastic, and the like, in a manner so as to produce a product which is fully and uniformly sliced and which retains the cut pieces in stacked relationship after slicing. The sliced product thereafter may be utilized directly by separation of the resulting parts either manually or by mechanical means or packaged.

The machine of this invention enables an attendant to continuously deposit manually products to be sliced on an endless conveyor and to recover the sliced product at the other end of the conveyor. Alternately, mechanized continuous or intermittent means may be used to feed the machine. The machine of the invention will automatically convey the sliced items through the slicing mechanism and provide for their discharge to a point where these products may be collected or carried away by other means which are commonly available.

Another feature of this invention resides in efiicient means of effecting the cutting so as to prevent the undesirable tearing or otherwise uneven separation of the products which tend to crumble, e.g. corn muffins, by positioning and holding the product firmly on both sides of the cutting blade during the slicing operation regardless of the non-uniformity of the products.

A further feature provides a method of maintaining constant tension on the cutting blades.

Still another feature permits the use of a single straight blade in lieu of the endless belt type blade which is substantially more expensive, which presents hazards to attendants and which is difficult to replace.

Another object of the invention relates to a unique means for imparting the slicing action to the cutting blade.

A still further object of the machine of the invention relates to the feature wherein two or more units may be assembled in a bank so that a plurality of articles may be cut simultaneously by a single drive by extending the operating shafts and providing additional slicing blades and movable article clamping means.

Additional objects of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description when considered in conjunction with the various embodiments of the drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view partially in section of the unit of FIG. 1 taken substantially along line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an end elevational view partially in section of the unit of FIG. 1 taken substantially along line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an end elevational view similar to FIG. 3 of a modified embodiment of the invention illustrating a multiple slicer.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary detail illustration showing the method of attaching the knife blade in the holder.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing generally the method of arranging additional slicing units in a parallel bank.

The invention generally comprises a pair of coacting movable endless conveyors which grip the article to be Patented Feb. 22, 1966 sliced and carry the article so held through a reciprocally actuated cutting blade disposed intermediate to said conveyors.

By reference to the drawing, FIG. 1, the machine is suitably supported in any convenient manner as upon the base plate member 21. Suitably formed or mounted on the base plate 21 are four upright supports 14 of generally similar configuration. Supports 14 are appropriately equipped with suitable upper and lower bearings 13 and 1302, respectively, so spaced as to permit the mounting thereon of upper and lower paired pulleys 11. Mounted on the pulleys 11 are conveyor belts 10 and 20 so formed and adjusted e.g. textured rubberized fabric, as to afford a secure grip on articles to be conveyed. The belts 10 and 20 are movable and adjustable to afford space 46 between these belts of sufiicient depth to permit the passage of articles such as buns or rolls or the like, without causing, where applicable, these products to be permanently deformed or unduly crushed.

The conveyor belts It and 20 are kept in tension by conventional adjustment of mountings therefor and preferably as shown by use of one or more tension or pressure elements which flex the deflectable portions of the upper and lower conveyors by upper and lower roller elements 15 and 15a applied on the upper and on the lower conveyors mounted on an arm 16, 55, respectively. Preferred results are obtained with two pressure elements on the lower strand of the top conveyor. Optionally, additional pressure elements may be employed on the top as well as on the bottom conveyor, one of which is shown on the lower strand of the lower conveyor. Pressure elements 15, 15a and 54 are arranged to pivot freely on a shaft 24, 24a and 57, respectively, and pressed against the conveyor strand through force of springs 17, 56. The tension provided by this means serves to force the upper belt 10 downward. In the preferred embodiment shown, the top belt 10 is depressed at two points so that contact with the conveyed articles is maintained while one article is being sliced and the next article, which may tend to expand the gap between belts, is approaching the cutting blade. These tensioning elements are thus suitably employed and positioned so as to provide an optimum pressure on the object passing through this apparatus at the critical cutting point.

Proper cutting movement is provided to the conveyor belts 10 and 20 through a suitable drive mechanism (not shown) connected through drive belt 58 and pulley element 25 which are suitably fitted to the upper and lower belt pulley shafts 12 and 26. The adjustment of the drive for the conveyors, which preferably are driven in a ratio of 1:1 so as to efifect movement of the article grasped between belts 10 and 20, in unison with the two belts. The arrangement to effect this result, wherein the lower surface of the upper belt and the upper surface of the lower belt will have motion in the same direction, may be attained by any convenient arrangement. The relative movement of the conveyor belts is preferably slow in relation to that of the cutting blade 31, as this has the effect of providing a neater out. However, any relative speed between the two drives which offers the optimum result may be applied. In essence, the arrangement of the device of the invention is such that when the article to be sliced is conveyed into the cutter blade 31 by this means slippage or shifting is minimized. The article is brought firmly and unswervingly into contact with the cutting blade or knife 31. The blade 31 is preferably of the serrated type which are commercially available as hacksaw blades.

Referring to FIG. 3 of the drawing, it is seen that the blade 31 is held at each end between shafts 33 and is held in fixed relationship therewith upon a pin 40 forming a part of a holder 32. The pin 40 is angularly offset to keep the knife blade from slipping off the holder 32, as shown in more detail in FIG. 5.

The cutting action of the knife 31 is arranged to provide a reciprocating motion and an important facet of the invention resides in an arrangement which maintains constant tension in the blade 31 as it moves in either direction. As an aid to assure dependable movement of the blade, guides 29 are preferably provided. Rollers of this kind offer means to resist potential twisting of the blade during the cutting action.

The blade mounting and reciprocating arrangement is seen more clearly by reference to FIG. 3. Shafts 33 and 38 to which the blade holders are attached are mounted in the left and right gear boxes 30 and 43, respectively. These gear boxes contain a spur gear 36 mounted in operable relationship on a shaft 37. The shaft 37 is supported at either end by bearings 34 affixed to the housing .43 as shown in FIG. 1. The center portion of shafts 33 and 38 are machined to provide a rack section having teeth of the same pitch and depth as the spur gears 36 so as to appropriately intermesh with these gear teeth.

The gear arrangement on either side of the conveyors are identical except that the spur gear shaft 37 is extended beyond the outer extremities of the gear box 43 at one end to provide for the mounting of driving components consisting of drive arm 39 which is in turn connected to connecting rod 41 by means of rod pin 42. The lower end of the connecting rod 41 is in turn connected to crank 44 by pin 45 to which rotary motion is imparted through crank pin 45, from an external source 49, attached to a drive means (not shown) to provide a rotational movement at appropriate speeds. Advantageous speeds for cutting bread rolls, for example, are between about 400 and about 600 revolutions per minute. Lower speeds generally require unduly slowing the articles fed or produce an unsatisfactory or ragged cut, The upper limit of speed is restricted only by the mechanical construction as to strength and the degree of vibration which can be tolerated.

Properly balanced static tension to the blades 31 and connector 71 which may be a rod or strap or another blade is maintained by use of a tensioning adjustment screw as'shown in FIG. 3. For this purpose, a fixed bracket 59 is fitted with a screw 62. The bracket 59 is provided with collar 61 whichpermits lateral movement of the gear box 30 by changing the relative distance between bracket 59 and gear box 30. Slots 64 in the base of gear box 30 allow relative shifting of the gear box relative to the base 21 through releasable screws 63. This insures that cutting blades 31 and 71 are snugly and firmly adjustably positioned.

Referring again to FIG. 1, it is apparent that when rotary motion is applied to crank 44, it will cause a reciprocating motion to connecting rod 41 which in turn results in an oscillating movement of arm 39 to which gear 36 is affixed on shaft 37. As a result gear 36 will move laterally a fixed distance in alternate directions causing shaft 33 to to move in opposite directions from shaft 38.

When shaft 33 in gear box 43 moves in such a way as to effect a pulling action on the knife 31, this in turn effects a pulling action on the shaft 33 mounted in the opposite gear box 30. Since the spur 36 gear in this gear box 30 is free to rotate, it will in turn effect a pulling action on the lower rod 38. Pulling action is now transmitted to the lower blade or rod. Although the blade 71 is shown as a simple duplicate of blade 31 as a matter of convenience, it will be apparent that blade 71 which functions essentially to maintain tension (in FIG. 1) may be replaced by a simple wire or bar in those cases where the lower blade is not employed for cutting. Force exerted on rod 38 which is already intermeshed with gear 36 and which is rotating as previously mentioned permits rod 38 to move in the direction in which it is being pulled. As

the crank 44 proceeds through its motion to complete one rotation, it causes the reverse action to take place. Arm 39 now proceeds to reverse its original direction of travel and the entire movement of the mechanism in essence repeats itself in reverse order of that described above, i.e. rod 38 now begins a pulling action which is exerted through the connector 71, rod 38, gear 36, rod 33, knife 31 and back to rod 33 in the master gear box 43. It is thus seen that knife 31 and connector 71 are always maintained in tension.

Referring to FIG. 4, it is seen that additional cutting assemblies in parallel relationship may be combined utilizing essentially the same or common components. Thus, by lowering the position of the bottom conveyor 20, with respect to the upper conveyor 10, the lower link 71 may be replaced with a cutting blade similar to knife 31. A mechanism is now provided which affords a double cut on one side and a single cut in the parallel adjacent conveyor. The double cut unit in a single pass through the conveyors provides an apparatus useful, for example, in preparing three decker buns or rolls, or the like.

Referring to FIG. 1, it can be seen that the belts 10 and 20 are suitably propelled by an external source and as previously described will have a motion which will force any article placed between them to be held in position and thereby moved in a direction which will bring them into contact with the cutting edge of the knife or blade 31 which is activated by an external force. The blade has a rapid oscillating motion in the order of about 500 to 2000 directional changes or strokes per minute, and will move in the order of A to of an inch horizontally in a direction perpendicular to the movement of any article being carried by the conveyor belts 10 and 20. Because sideward movement of the blade 31 may tend to cause the article being sliced to move sideways, the article is preferably restrained by side plates 65 on the left and 66 on the right which are removably mounted in a suitable manner. These plates are provided with slots (or a suitable space between plates) 67 and 68 to allow the slicing blade 31 to pass through.

A single unit as illustrated in FIG. 1 or the combined double and single cut machine of FIG. 4 has attraction for many slicing tasks such as for example in restaurants or other food dispensing establishments. The schematic arrangement of FIG. 6 illustrates an alternate arrangement in which multiple units 104, 105, 106 and 107 may be arranged in a parallel bank using common drive means 102 and 103 and connecting elements such as drive chain, belting or the like. Like numerals are employed in referring to similar parts described in conjunction with the embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 4 hereinabove. This offers economy of installation where needs require a larger volume such as in a bakery whereupon any number of combinations both in linear arrangements and in tiers may be adapted.

The arrangement of the invention accommodates cutting blades 31 which are short serrated blades comparable in length to standard hacksaw blades which require holes '73 of suitable diameter as is the case with saw blades to fit pin 40 as shown in detail in FIG. 5. This avoids the use of special blades and avoids any problem of supplying special replacement blades. Either manual or automatic means may be employed for feeding of products into and away from this device. For this purpose a hopper, conveyor or other similar feed devices which are commercially available and need not be described herein may be attached to the slicer by means within the purview of one skilled in the art.

While preferred embodiments have been described and illustrated in this invention, certain changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of this invention in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A slicing machine comprising a base, a first endless conveyor upon which the article to be sliced is carried supported on said base, a second endless conveyor supported in spaced relationship with said first conveyor and positioned at least in part coextensively therewith, said conveyors being adaptable to securely hold an article to be sliced between said first and second conveyors and in contact therewith as an article is fed between said conveyors, guide means for laterally retaining an article to be sliced between said conveyors, yieldable tension elements mounted contiguous to and bearing on said conveyors to maintain tension in said conveyors, a mounting for said blade comprising a pair of substantially parallelracks and a spur gear operably meshing with said racks, a reciprocating cutting blade mounted on one of said racks and positioned between said conveyors and spaced therefrom, and means for driving said conveyors and cutting blade.

2. The machine of claim 1 wherein a pair of blades are maintained between said conveyors to impart a double cut to an article fed through said conveyors.

3. The machine of claim 1 comprising in combination therewith a second pair of coordinate conveyors in parallel feed arrangement with said pair of conveyors of alignment with, and actuated by a common drive as, the cutting blade of claim 1.

4-. The machine of claim 3 wherein a pair of blades is used in conjunction with said second pair of conveyors.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 545,288 8/1895 Hewitt 83-435 1,584,371 5/1926 Griffiths 8313 1,766,450 6/1930 Ost 14673 1,805,936 5/1931 Walcox.

1,894,850 1/1933 Carlson 83435 1,978,017 10/1934 Ford 146151 2,115,102 4/1938 Gottfried et al. 146151 2,126,226 8/1938 Smith et al. 14672 2,293,133 8/1942 Halferty 14673 2,598,480 5/ 1952 Wright.

2,669,269 2/ 1954 Schmidt 14673 2,710,637 6/1955 Fish 14673 2,961,907 11/1960 Hohlbein 8313 2,987,089 6/1961 Lecrone 14673 WILLIAM W. DYER, ]R., Primary Examiner.

claim 1 and equipped with a second cutting blade in linear 25 ANDREW R. JUHASZ, Examiner. 

1. A SLICING MACHINE COMPRISING A BASE, A FIRST ENDLESS CONVEYOR UPON WHICH THE ARTICLE TO BE SLICED IS CARRIED SUPPORTED ON SAID BASE, A SECOND ENDLESS CONVEYOR SUPPORTED IN SPACED RELATIONSHIP WITH SAID FIRST CONVEYOR AND POSITIONED AT LEAST IN PART COEXTENSIVELY THEREWITH, SAID CONVEYORS BEING ADAPTABLE TO SECURELY HOLD AN ARTICLE TO BE SLICED BETWEEN SAID FIRST AND SECOND CONVEYORS AN IN CONTACT THEREWITH AS AN ARTICLE IS FED BETWEEN SAID CONVEYORS, GUIDE MEANS FOR LATERALLY RETAINING AN ARTICLE TO BE SLICED BETWEEN SAID CONVEYORS, YIELDABLE TENSION ELEMENTS MOUNTED CONTIGUOUS TO AND BEARING ON SAID CONVEYORS TO MAINTAIN TENSION IN SAID CONVEYORS, A MOUNTING FOR SAID BLADE COMPRISING A PAIR OF SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL RACKS AND A SPUR GEAR OPERABLY MESHING WITH SAID RACKS, A RECIPROCATING CUTTING BLADE MOUNTED ON ONE OF SAID RACKS AND POSITIONED BETWEEN SAID CONVEYORS AND SPACED THEREFROM, AND MEANS FOR DRIVING SAID CONVEYORS AND CUTTING BLADE. 